 Sherman Daily Register Monday, June 13, 1887 Pg 1 STRICKEN DEAD LIGHTHING'S FELL WORK YESTERDAY AFTERNOON. _____________ L. W. Throckmorton Stricken Dead by an Electric Bolt. __________ At 5:15 yesterday afternoon a telephone message was received at the central station asking for police to at once be sent to East Sherman, to attend to a dead man, who had been found in the road. This was the cold and meager intelligence transmitted over the wires to Officers Melton and Middleton, who answered the summons. A Register representative heard the sad story and together with Gatsby Taylor and J. C. Tansey, left for the scene which was just south of the pond which lies on the south side of the Transcontinental railroad, a mile east of the Union Depot. A SAD SPECTACLE met their gaze. Lying face downward, with his hands thrown on his back, lay the discolored and prostrate body of a man while just west of him lay the animal which he had been riding, also cold and stark. No signs of a struggle was visible and the dead man's feet were still in the stirrups. Policeman Melton and Middleton arrived on the scene very soon afterwards. Up to this time no one knew who the dead man was, it having been deemed best to leave him as found until the arrival of the police. When turned over he proved to be L. W. THROCKMORTON, a well known and respected citizen who lives in the city, at 310 East Mulberry street. The hair on his head was badly singed and burned, as was also his mustache and chin whiskers. A small cut on the forehead showed signs of blood, very probably caused by the unfortunate man's head striking some hard substance in the road. The left eye was closed while the right remained open and perfectly clear. The torn and shattered hat near by told its mute story of where the FATAL BOLT struck. The shirt, which was torn open in front, revealed to sight the sickening effect of the electric stroke. The right breast was burned and blistered, and the whole body of a dark purplish hue to the waist. At the knees of the pants on the inside, at the point where they would most naturally be pressed against the saddle were two apertures, which the current made its escape and reached the body of the horse. The rent in the right leg of the pants was burned, while there were little signs, except for all four of its legs, where the path of the electricity was plainly discernible, and on the sides at the points where it tore out the deceased's clothing. It was probably an HOUR BEFORE THE FAMILY KNEW of the frightful disaster which had overtaken them. The scene at the home was pitiful indeed, and it is not for an unhallowed pen to depict or attempt to tell of the woe and sorrow. He was carried home by the officers and given over to the family and the undertaker. No one has been found that saw the fatal bolt do its deadly work, but from REES HEATON who was standing in the college campus, and looking in the direction of the scene, is learned the clearest idea of the size and appearance of the bolt. He says it was only slightly misting at the time when it came, and that it attracted his attention on account of its extreme length and brightness, followed by a deafening report. It descended at about an angle of 45 degrees, and as there is no signs of an unnatural disturbance in the vicinity of the sad occurrence, the whole force must have been attached to Throckmorton's body. Bee Jackson, who was standing some distance west, corroborates Heaton's version, though they saw it from different points. J. M. Smith, who, with his wife and family, were camped within 150 yards of the scene, states that he had been down town, and was gathering up his horses and coming back to camp when he saw the man and horse lying in the road. He came close enough to know that the horse was dead, but did not want to see whether or not the man was dead until he ran to the Oil Mill and sounded the alarm. He came back accompanied by Mike Tinan, but they did not disturb the body to see who it was. Mrs. Smith who with her children, was at the camp, about 150 yards from the scene, did not see the deceased when killed, but says the shock of the bolt was terrific, but that it was not raining at the time, only a slight mist falling. The air was filled with a sulphuric smell, and she further states that the very earth was shaken by the concession. She, like Jackson and Heaton, says the bolt came down in a slanting way and was very long. THE DECEASED who leaves a wife and five children, was born in Nichols county, Kentucky, and was consequently 45 years of age. He enlisted in the Confederate army at the very outbreak of the civil war, and was honorably paroled at Greensboro, N.C., after having served through the entire war. He came to Texas in 1867, and has since lived in this state for a number of years in this county. Some three years since he traded a farm for city property on Mulberry street, but has a farm leased at the present time, and was engaged in farming. His remains were laid away in the Dripping Springs Cemetery this morning at 10 o'clock. The funeral services were held at the grave by Rev. Williams, of the Dripping Springs Baptist Church, which the deceased was a member of good fellowship. At the time of the sad occurrence the deceased was riding a horse belonging to Johnnie McConville, and which he had borrowed to go out and get his own horses, which were tethered on the prairie near where he was killed. The affair has cast a gloom over the entire neighborhood where the dead man lived and was respected. Sherman Daily Register Monday, June 13, 1887 Pg 4 AN INQUEST Held Over the Remains of L. W. Throckmorton On account of the inclemency of the weather the inquiry into the causes, manner, time and place of the death of L. W. Throckmorton, was postponed until this morning. After the jury had been empaneled they went to the family residence on East Mulberry street and viewed the remains, after which they came back to the court house, where the investigation was taken up. The jury, after hearing all the evidence, returned a verdict in keeping with the facts in the case, that he came to his death by a stroke of lightning.  Dripping Spring Cemetery Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any of Grayson County TXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |